DeWayne Wickham column: Tyson is a cartoon

Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion whose life inside and outside of the ring had all the trappings of a dark comedy, is now set to star in one.

The man who once knocked out an opponent in just eight seconds, is now expected to bowl over viewers of the animated cartoon show to which he is lending his voice - and his still controversial name. Mike Tyson Mysteries, a new program that's scheduled to premiere on Adult Swim, the cable programmer that is an appendage of the Cartoon Network. It is Tyson's latest venture. In 15-minute episodes, Tyson will play a detective who, with the help of a foul-mouthed, talking pigeon, solves some quirky mysteries.

Quirky is a good description of the life Tyson has lived. The youngest heavyweight boxing champ, Tyson won the crown in 1986 at age 20 and boasted that he'd also be the oldest person to hold the title. That honor went to George Foreman, who in 1994 won professional boxing's biggest crown at age 45.

Tyson's life became a bad roller coaster ride long before he reached that milestone. At the height of his dominance of heavyweight boxing, Tyson said: "When I fight someone, I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him."

Although Tyson earned more than $300 million during his 20-year boxing career, he filed for bankruptcy in 2003. He retired two years later at age 38. "I don't have the guts to stay in this sport anymore," Tyson said shortly after losing his last fight, to little-known Irish boxer Kevin McBride.

During his boxing career, Tyson gave a $183,000 Bentley to a couple of New York City cops after denting it during a traffic accident. He once broke his hand during a late night street fight with another boxer. He bit off a piece of the ear of one opponent and threatened to eat the children of another. Tyson was accused of spousal abuse by Robin Givens, his first wife, and was convicted of raping an 18-year-old black beauty queen. He pleaded no contest to assaulting a man during a road rage incident and settled a lawsuit with two women who accused him of assaulting them in a Washington, D.C., restaurant.

"I'm not Mother Teresa, but I'm not Charles Manson either," Tyson later said of his behavior.

For most people, such a long run of bad deeds and misfortune would doom them to a bog from which they could never escape. But Tyson's rebounds are as numerous as his knockouts.

In his latest incarnation, Tyson has appeared in a documentary of his life titled Tyson, had a popular cameo role in the movies The Hangover and The Hangover II, and is starring in the play Mike Tyson - Undisputed Truth, which was directed by Spike Lee and had a short run on Broadway before going on a national tour.

Last month, Tyson showed up on the OWN show Oprah: Where Are They Now?, and revealed that he has found happiness in veganism and marriage - his fourth wife, that is. This is not the first time that Tyson has proclaimed a new and improved version of himself. But I suspect that no one - maybe not even Tyson - knows whether this will be a lasting one.

In a recent Esquire interview, Tyson said he has been acting most of his life. He was a character playing Mike Tyson. That guy will never go away, Tyson said, "because (that character) catapulted me into the person I am today."

Now that's really funny.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

DeWayne Wickham column: Tyson is a cartoon

Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion whose life inside and outside of the ring had all the trappings of a dark comedy, is now set to star in one.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Join Our Team!

If you are interested in working for an innovative media company, you can learn more by visiting: